It was a stare down between Captain America and an infant. Ice blue eyes locked with sapphire blue eyes. The infant pursed her lips together, her eyes focused intently on the man in front of her. An eyebrow twitched upwards on the little girl's face, a sturdy line creased on Steve Rogers face. It was an inner turmoil, no one understood why the stare down was going on, but hilarity ensued. You could see the flashes of camera lights, chuckles, simple giggles, coughing to cover laughter, it could all be heard.
The wood floor creaked under the good Captains boots. The little girl's small blonde pigtails stuck out at opposite sides of her head. She turned her head a fraction to look at her mother. The eyebrow was still quirked up, lips still pursed and she had moved her hands to Steve's chest. She clenched her hands, open and closed, open and closed, multitudes of times, trying to understand the feeling of the fabric under her tiny hands. She couldn't quite grab at the fabric; a soft rubbery feel beneath her finger tips.
"Ya." She squeaked. She patted at the uniform. Steve smiled slighty.
"Yeah?" he questioned. She patted his uniform again, tilting her head to the other side and catching a look at her Uncle Bucky. He blinked a few times and shrugged at the little girl.
"What baby doll?" his shoulders held high, his hair tucked behind his ears.
"Ya!" she squealed and smiled and patted harder at Steve Roger's chest. Bucky laughed heartily, another camera flash popped. The infant began to bang at Steve's uniform, as if it was a drum of sorts. She smiled and a little bit of drool dribbled on her chin. She lifted her hands as high as she could and brought them back to Steve's chest.
"Are you happy to see Daddy Ava?" a soothing voice spoke from behind the Captain.
It hadn't been a long mission, only a few days, however it was the first time he had had to leave his ladies behind. He had been there throughout the entire time she was growing up; since she was born a few months ago, even going as far as to be the person that woke up when Ava needed a bottle or to be changed in the middle of the night. She was daddy's little princess, she didn't want for anything. But now she had gone without her Daddy. It had been a tough few days for her. She cried and when she wasn't crying she was looking at pictures of her father. She had seen the uniform in the pictures, but not in their home. In their home it was t-shirts and jeans, or shorts. Simple, soft, clothing. This uniform didn't feel like her daddy. Uncle Bucky didn't look like her Uncle Bucky either.
Ava's eyes swiveled again to look at her Uncle. His arms crossed over his chest. Cool metal flashed in the light of the living room. She knew her uncle was special, something was different. But it didn't matter. He was still her Uncle and he was the one that sat with her father and talked about the old days and told her how they would make sure she would never have a broken heart, that they would always protect her. Bucky and Daddy would tell her fairytales, pretending to do the voices of the different characters in her books. They made her laugh.
Ava stuck her chubby arm out and spread her fingers out to Bucky. Steve hadn't talked the entire time he was holding his daughter. A slow, low rubble worked its way from his belly to his mouth.
"What baby, you want Bucky?" Steve shifted and moved Ava closer to her Uncle. She shied away and snuggled closer to her father. Mama was near, she never let anyone do anything bad to her, even Doctor Bruce. Though sometimes he had to use pointy stick things on her. Her arm was still out but Ava wouldn't move any closer to Bucky. Steve leaned over slightly and Ava was able to brush her hand against Bucky's metal arm. A sigh could be heard from the baby as she snuggled closer to her father and uncle. Her tiny hand clung to Bucky's metal arm, its cold metal plates under her fingers; her head against her father's chest. These were her men, her family. These were her heroes.
Steve placed a gentle kiss on top of the little girl's head and Bucky rubbed the thumb of his flesh hand across the top of Ava's pudgy hand on his arm. Another flash went off. Sighs of content and happiness could be heard throughout the apartment. If this is what it took for Ava to accept her Daddy back home after a mission Steve Rogers was more than willing to let it happen.